MTC News: Year Four (2003) Progress Report

Education and Human Capital Development

The consortium’s commitment to education and developing human capital is seen through several categories: engaging faculty, developing curriculum, engaging students, improving technology and infrastructure, and integrating distance learning.

Engaging Faculty

In order to reach it’s goals, the MTC must have faculty actively involved in transportation research and education. The MTC strives to recruit new faculty into the transportation field and interest faculty from other areas in transportation.

• The MTC’s involvement contributed to Dr. Carlos Sun (ITS/Traffic) and Dr. Cindy Wilson Orndoff (asset management) joining the UM-C faculty during the Fall 2001 semester. The program also engaged faculty from three other UM-C colleges and the Truman School of Public Affairs.
• Faculty from the Departments of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering; Community and Regional Planning; and Logistics, Operations, and Management Information Systems at Iowa State University actively participated in research, presentations, curriculum development, and conferences.
• The MTC helped advance the Center for Transportation Studies at the UM-SL in curriculum development, student activities, presentations, and research. The school added a graduate certificate program and an M.B.A. track in transportation logistics, hired an assistant director for undergraduate program development, and began developing a new undergraduate transportation and logistics program for non-traditional students that will be directly linked to cooperative employment at area businesses.
• Accounting faculty from Lincoln University participated in the asset management conferences conducted by the MTC and integrated asset management concepts into academic coursework.
• The departments of geography and industrial technology and the School of Business at UNI became involved in developing curriculum, student activities, presentations, and research.
• The MTC similarly engaged the Department of Civil Engineering at UM-KC in activities relating to curriculum development, student activities, presentations, and research.
• Faculty, staff, and industry practitioners submitted proposals on interdisciplinary subjects.

Developing Curriculum

The following transportation courses were added or substituted during restructurings at the institutions indicated:

During FY 2000—2001

• Transportation Policy Planning (ISU)
• Domestic Transportation (UM-SL)
• Transportation Geography (UNI)

During FY 2001—2002

• Introduction to Transportation Engineering (ISU)
• Urban Transportation Planning and Modeling (ISU)
• Analytical Photogrammetry/Geographic Information Systems (ISU)
• Physical and Geometric Geodesy (ISU)
• Transportation Symposium (UM-C and UM-SL)
• Software Applications/ Supply Chain Management (UM-SL)
• GIS Applications (UNI)
• Transportation Geography (UNI)
• Public Sector Accounting (Lincoln University)
• Infrastructure Management (UM-C)
• Contemporary Issues in Transportation (UNI)

During FY 2002—2003

• Introduction to Transportation (UM-SL)

Engaging Students

The MTC supported the following student recruitment initiatives:

• Co-sponsored the Mid-America Transportation Center’s (MATC) summer internship program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Undergraduate students worked for a consulting firm or public transportation agency located in Lincoln or Omaha. The 2000 program included eight interns who worked for their sponsors for 13 weeks during the summer and participated in a field trip visiting transportation-related facilities in Lincoln, Nebraska and Kansas City, Missouri.
• Teamed with local resources to recruit students: ISU joined with the Iowa DOT, practitioners, community college, and three high schools to recruit students into transportation.
• Established a graduate assistantship in transportation at ISU: The MTC matched funds with Howard R. Green (HR Green) to establish a graduate assistantship.
• Established student chapter of Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE): Beginning with the Winter 2003 semester, UM-C established a student chapter under the leadership of Dr. Carlos Sun. Student activities carried out by the chapter are credited with generating a surge in interest in the university’s transportation program.
• Involved students in research: Research supported by MTC throughout the program has included research assistantships and other forms of student employment. In addition to developing student expertise, involvement in these projects also serves as a valuable incentive for students to pursue transportation as a field of study.
• UM-C students design four surveillance trailers: Dr. Carlos Sun and his students at UM-C designed and constructed four surveillance trailers with extendable 30-foot masts and full video and processing capabilities to supplement the Translab capabilities.

Regional Student Paper Competition

Each year, the MTC challenges students enrolled in consortium programs to develop concepts related to asset management. Papers are reviewed and voted on by external reviewers and key staff and narrowed to the top ten. The students at the annual Transportation Scholars Conference held late in the fall semester then formally present these papers. Cash prizes are awarded in several categories. The MTC then encourages and helps students present at other professional forums, such as the TRB annual meeting. The winning projects illustrate the quality of concepts developed by students each year for the competition.

MTC Outstanding Paper Awards

• David White, Ph.D. Candidate, Iowa State University, Civil Engineering
  1999–2000 Rapid Soil Identification and Classification for Highway Embankment Construction
• Anil Kurian, M.S. Candidate, Iowa State University, Civil Engineering
  2000–2001 Analytical Modeling of Glued Laminated Girder Bridges Using ANSYS (pdf)
• David Veneziano, M.S. Candidate, Iowa State University, Civil Engineering
  2001–2002 Intersection Inventory and Remote Sensing (pdf)
• David Veneziano, Ph.D. Candidate, Iowa State University, Civil Engineering
  2002–2003 Assessing the Feasibility of Using LIDAR (A Laser-Based Remote Sensing Technology) for Highway Planning and Design Purposes (pdf)
• Elizabeth Kash, M.S. Candidate, Iowa State University, Civil Engineering
  2003–2004 The Mechanisms of Corrosion and Utilizing Fiber Reinforced Polymers as a Chloride Barrier (pdf)

Student Scholar of the Year Competition

At the annual Transportation Scholars Conference, the MTC selects a Transportation Scholar of the Year based on multiple criteria including research conducted, scholarship, outside activities related to transportation, and academic performance. The competition is open to students (U.S. citizens only) from any of the MTC consortium schools that participate in one of the schools’ Transportation Scholars Programs. Selection is based on applications submitted by the educational advisors or researchers at each school.

Winners receive an all-expenses-paid trip to attend the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. where they are recognized along with scholars from other regions by the U.S. Department of Transportation. In addition, they receive recognition in the MTC’s publications, seminars and conference travel opportunities, and enhanced credibility among faculty and other researchers.

Transportation Scholars of the Year

1999–2000: David White, Ph.D. Candidate, Iowa State University, Civil Engineering
Research: Soil characterization and stabilization, embankment construction, and materials

2000–2001: Jerry Shadewald, M.S. Candidate, Iowa State UniversityCivil Engineering
Research: GIS modeling interfaces and traffic simulation and assignment algorithms

2001–2002: Vanessa Amado, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Missouri - Columbia, Civil Engineering
Research: Pavement management databases and knowledge discovery systems

2002–2003: David Veneziano, Ph.D. Candidate, Iowa State University, Civil Engineering
Research: Application of remote sensing technologies to transportation asset management

2003–2004: Jamie Luedtke, M.S. Candidate, Iowa State University, Transportation

Connecting Students and Practitioners

The following partial list illustrates the types of opportunities generated by the MTC to facilitate interactions between students and practitioners over the past four years.

Students from MTC attend TRB annual meetings: The MTC provides travel and accommodations for approximately 20 students each year. At the 2003 meeting, several MTC students presented papers, prepared posters for display, and attended technical committee meetings.

UM-C students work with county: Eight students at UM-C conducted an asset management study for Cole County, Missouri. They used software to handle the data that were collected using GPS and GIS technologies. Transportation Scholars led teams of undergraduates in the data collection phases of the study. Since the project ended in early 2003, the county asked UM-C to stay involved with them and have hired a transportation scholar to help operate the asset management system.

ISU students research remote sensing for transportation: Through MTC funding and participation in the National Consortium on Remote Sensing for Transportation (NCRST), five students at CTRE investigated the application of LiDAR in three areas of transportation infrastructure: to identify visual obstructions at intersections with high older driver crash frequencies, to derive roadway geometric and drainage characteristics, and to assess the impacts of improved terrain data on hydraulic design and deficiency (surety) assessment.

Class project supported a planned multi-modal facility to be built on the UNI campus, funded largely by the Federal Transit Administration: In the transportation geography course taught by Dr. Tim Strauss at UNI, two Transportation Scholars took the lead in developing the required GIS databases. This included address- matching the workplaces and residences of UNI faculty and staff and developing GIS layers corresponding to campus buildings, parking lots, and footpaths. The results of an online survey were presented to local transit officials, local planners, and campus public safety and physical plant personnel.

UNI course led to community involvement: The new transportation geography course at UNI led to student participation in transportation planning activities in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls metropolitan area. The UNI students and faculty provided analysis and development of a joint university and city public transportation system.

Two UNI students presented at ASPRS annual conference: Two UNI students attended the American Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing (ASPRS) annual conference in Washington, D.C. during the spring of 2000. The conference had several presentations on an emerging area of research regarding transportation applications of remote sensing.

MTC co-sponsored the Mid-Continent Transportation Symposium: Students and faculty from the MTC were able to attend the 2000 and 2003 Mid-Continent Transportation Symposium in Ames. The symposium provides a two-day forum for industry and academia (300 participants) to exchange a wide variety of transportation research results.

Students attended ITE conference: Students attended an ITE national conference in Nashville, Tennessee, during the fall of 2000, supported by the MTC.

UM-C senior travels the Midwest with internship: An agreement with the FHWA’s Midwest Resource Center provided a summer internship for a UM-C senior. The student logged 15,000 miles demonstrating the FHWA’s retro-reflectivity van through ten midwestern states, assisting in presentations, and demonstrating the sophisticated, state-of-the-art equipment.

Lincoln University partners with MoDOT for co-ops: Charles Nemmers and Dr. Sherrie Koechling-Burnett organized a co-op program between Lincoln University and MoDOT. The program initially provided summer internship opportunities for four Lincoln University students. Since then, the program has tripled. Lincoln University arranged a trip for 12 co-op students to Kansas City to visit different transportation hubs, including the Lee Summit Airport, the TOC Building, and the Grandview Triangle.

Lincoln University student develops web-based software program: At Lincoln University, a student is developing a web-based depreciation program for small government agencies for asset management and GASB 34 compliance.

Um-C students work with MoDOT for technical library: Three students at UM-C in the School of Information Science and Learning Technologies (SISLT) are working with the MoDOT to upgrade and digitize their technical library, and phase two program was started.

Educational Awards and Recognition

ISU received several unique transportation-related awards during 2001–2002:

• Transportation Student Association (TSA) received the best Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) student chapter award each year of the first four years of the MTC. The TSA is a very active and innovative student organization that is directly involved in many of the MTC’s activities, including organizing the annual trip to TRB and the student recruitment effort.
• MTC Director David Plazak won the Iowa Chapter of the American Planning Association’s (APA) Excellence in Planning Education Award for 2001, partly as the result of the new transportation policy-planning course he developed.
• A graduate student was awarded one of the first fellowships offered by AASHTO in honor of former Executive Director Frank Francois. In December 2000, AASHTO announced that the first award would go to the Iowa DOT in honor of David J. Hensing, a former deputy director of AASHTO and ISU civil engineering graduate. AASHTO specified that the $10,000 fellowship be presented to an Iowa State University student in honor of Mr. Francois and Mr. Hensing. ISU graduate student Jamie Tunnell Luedtke was presented with the award during the AASHTO meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, in October 2002.

Improving Technology and Infrastructure

Videoconferencing Facility

As part of the strategic plan, the MTC developed a virtual transportation university in March 2000 at CTRE. It is now being used regularly for distance learning throughout Iowa, the MTC region, and nationally. The Spring Transportation Seminar demonstrates an early application of this technology.

Since the system was installed, it has been used for over 540 calls/sessions totaling almost 180 hours. A typical scheduled classroom session lasts two hours; however, the MTC has been increasing its use as an alternative to travel for meetings with universities and other entities throughout the country. This facility not only saves travel time and expense but also increases the number of face-to-face interactions during a project.

Installing the facility brought together the resources of the MTC, the Iowa DOT, the Iowa State University Research Park, and Iowa State University. The classroom has movable tables for flexible teaching and meeting arrangements and accommodates up to 49 people. It includes a document camera and overhead projector, a whiteboard that captures writing from a marker board and converts it to electronic formats, connections for personal computers, a special effects console for producing picture in picture effects, full-duplex speakerphone and fax, and a video distribution amplifier that allows computer output to be viewed from internal and external video monitors and on a large classroom projection screen simultaneously.

The system broadcasts via H.320 compressed videoconferencing protocol, the accepted standard for global videoconferencing (it will also connect via H.323 Internet conferencing standards). At up to 15 frames per second, it provides close to full-motion video effects. The original system can be connected to the Iowa DOT’s video network and sites around the world through private videoconferencing networks, the Iowa Communications Network (ICN), and the Missouri Research and Education Network (MORENET). The ICN alone opens access to more than 745 facilities in Iowa (at least one in every county).

The facility is currently being upgraded to include instructional laptop computers, wireless Ethernet and Internet access, and a high-luminescence projector. This summer, a number of tests were conducted to determine compatibility requirements for expanding access to additional distance learning partners, including other universities in the region and the FHWA in Washington, DC.

Also, a survey and listing of university transportation offerings via distance learning technologies (both videoconferencing and internet) was completed to identify prospects for future activities. The results of the survey indicate that relatively few distance courses are now offered in transportation in the MTC region; however, some programs are planning or considering such offerings.

Remote Monitoring Laboratory

The MTC helped support development of a Remote Monitoring Laboratory (RML) at CTRE (operational in Fall 2003) that will be used for education, research, and outreach activities related to using remote data collection for transportation infrastructure management. The lab uses low cost wireless video and data transmission technologies to support applications in a number of subject areas, including traffic management, transportation planning, safety management, structures and bridge health monitoring, and geotechnical engineering. Partners include several academic departments at ISU, the Iowa DOT (which will be supplying live data and video feeds from the new Des Moines area intelligent transportation system, and the FHWA.

Transportation Laboratory (Translab)

Dr. Carlos Sun established a transportation research laboratory, Translab, at UM-C. The lab includes digital video image processing machines, a machine vision computer (ITERIS), global positioning system (GPS) data collection and processing systems, statistical analysis, Unix workstations, speed radar, and professional video cameras.

Several types of research are being conducted in the lab, including intelligent transportation systems (ITS), transportation safety, driver behavior, traffic flow, and traffic surveillance. UM-C and the University of Kansas are using the lab to evaluate the benefits of ITS deployment in Missouri. The lab also houses the data server for the KC Scout evaluation project so that other universities will be able to share traffic information. This year the lab will be updated to include the ability to import live video feeds of Kansas City and St. Louis urban traffic.

Integrating Distance Learning

Spring Transportation Seminar Series

The spring seminar in transportation is designed to bring students together from a variety of disciplines to discuss transportation topics with experts and practitioners. The program includes 15 two-hour lectures presented by outside speakers each Friday morning of the spring semester. Advanced videoconferencing technology allows the course to be disseminated to multiple sites throughout the region.

ISU, UM-C, UM-SL, and UNI have been planning the seminar. Discussions are beginning to emerge with other institutions in the MTC region. At least one university outside the member universities has also requested information about participating in the seminar series. The MTC is currently upgrading the videoconferencing facility, in part to accommodate this.

Generally, combined attendance at the four sites averages about 50 each week. Although the seminar series is primarily targeted toward students, it is common to see participation from five to ten professional staff from the Iowa and Missouri DOTs, local FHWA offices, and even a few private citizens. Every year the seminar has led to the development of at least one new relationship for the member schools.

See a list of previous seminar speakers and topics.